In my nightmare, I make the grade, I save the day
Keeping a bullet journal has paid off! Remembering all of this stuff feels a lot less daunting when I have notes to go over. Let's see if I can synthesize it all.
The apartment has been in various states of duress this past month, but all is well that ends well.
Noticed our hot water tank was leaking so that had a nice Friday night repair. It caused some damp carpet, but after many days of a small industrial fan blowing over the spot, it was dried and after another few days, they replaced the carpet.
Work and my skin issues were driving me crazy so after a lot of cleaning, I was pretty confident that my apartment didn't have bed bugs from work. But, I had to know for certain. I cleaned up the apartment and had a local, certified bed bug dog team come in and after a harrowing hour, my apartment was considered clear.
There were discussions at work and it became obvious my most infuriating, neckbeard co-worker is to blame. The bad news is that he's handling it in a haphazard manner, so until further notice, I have to spot check myself, which really inconveniences me, but is worth it for my peace of mind. -screams-
Other lameness at work is that my classroom was taken away so now I have to beg and borrow for teaching space. It makes things less convenient to schedule, but it gives me the whole afternoon out of the office and I can't complain about that too much. The countdown to get out of there is now at 2 years and I'm a little nervous that I won't be find something before then.
I have a lot of avenues that pique my interest, but I'm not firmly committed to any of them. Working in an escape room seems very interesting, but I'm worried about the longevity of the industry and real profitability outside of being an owner/chief staff of a room. Being a yoga instructor seems closer when I'm actually doing the work since I'm a lot stronger and in better shape than last year, but I'm still far from the 4 (?) hours a week I need to be doing. Game design is the newest, biggest question mark. There's a lot of free tools and I know a lot of good folks...but telling a good story, having a good experience, and making money seems like a lot of balls to keep in the air.
I need to work on my IT certification just to keep a back up plan, but I also need to start committing time to moving forward.
A piece of moving forward was buying a gaming worthy PC. It's an Alienware Alpha on the low end of the spectrum, but it's still competent. Hoping I'll be able to dip my toe into game development this way and who knows, maybe I'll be able to take Competitive Overwatch seriously.
Overwatch has continued to be the number one game that I play. I've played with a number of friends that I haven't played games with ever or in years, so I'm very happy about that. (Including Brodsky, Bonnie, Kriz and the Dallas fam [biiiiig rooster~] and Abby) On PC, in just messing around quick play, now that I've set my buttons closer to what works for me (I hate WASD), I'm putting up pretty good medal numbers. Once I complete my season 3 placement on PS4 in (I'm doing -so- much better in placement and the games are feeling a lot better), I think I'll try to really get my PC game in line and see how we do. The Christmas event was awesome, but it feels like the actual holiday passed too quick. At least I got Zenyatta on PS4 and I got the other ones that I wanted on PC.
I've definitely been playing other games too and I didn't really recognize it until I looked at my list. Played around a bit more in KOF XIV and Disney Infinity and I have really been feeling the Star Wars itch. Was really digging Talos Principle to play puzzles, but the holidays stopped me playing pretty quick. Some of those puzzles are NASTY without the proper mindset into them. Other games I dabbled into include Hitman (easily the best Hitman game that I've played, but my attention is too scattered for it right now) and Let It Die which is fun Souls-esque game, but I'm behind on all my From games anyway. Been playing Super Mario Run at work too and it's very good and addicting, but I'm hoping not too much of a data hog. It's definitely a battery hog, but low graphic settings are stupid when you can see how pretty it really is. Also played the demo for the new Nier and it's fun, even if not perfect. Games I need to catch up on: Shadow of the Colossus, Bayonetta 2, Nier
In an attempt to figure out if I wanted a physical copy, I bought Firewatch. I love the possibilities and the feel of the game (80's throwback, dialogue choices) but where it goes with it feels lacking. I wished for a more orthodox grounded story to reflect the medium and maybe that's something that I want to make. All the tie in merchandise from PAX and everything is amazing, though. I don't think I need the physical copy (although the map would be cool), but I'm glad I experienced it and want to do the audio tour, I think.
In other game news, Death Stranding looks fantastic. Grace has done a good job of keeping me up to date on the latest news and the Game Awards business has sealed my feelings on Konami's Metal Gear Solid. It isn't the same with Kojima and I should stand by the creator of what has given me so much happiness and introspection over the years. I want to support Kojima Productions but I kinda missed the boat on the shirt kit and I'm kicking myself over that one a lot. I hope that I get another chance. So I didn't hesitate on buying the Low Roar vinyl, even though I'm not crazy about vinyl. ...I kind of want to cosplay as Death Stranding Mads, but I don't know if I can get everything in time for PAX. Something else to look at.
I guess that I have been gradually catching up on my media stuff. I ended up making a lot of progress into Jessica Jones which gets really hard hitting and suspenseful and definitely dark. My delay in watching it is nothing against the story; I definitely enjoy it whenever I watch; the slow burn in the beginning helps set up some later pieces, but maybe a bit of concise editing could have been done.
Setting up for a great pay off is one of the many reasons that I am still completely and totally in love with Agents of SHIELD. Season 4 is paying off so many of the the arcs from the first 3 seasons and Bus Family will be forever in their own way. Ghost Rider/Robbie Reyes is such an interesting, layered character, and I hope that we will not have seen the last of him. I'm glad that FitzSimmons gets to enjoy their happiness, too. <3
The only really notable WWE thing to report is the continuing superiority of Smackdown and GOOOOOOLDBERG. OMG, marked out so hard over his victory. Like, I'm still salty about the streak being broken and I know how WCW guys usually get destroyed in WWE, so I'm very happy about this turn of events. It would be amazing to see him in the Rumble, but I really can't spend that much money and I'll be extra heartbroken if it doesn't go right. ;; I'm starting to catch up on NJPW before the Dome Show and because it's Omega/Okada, I can't not watch. Let's see if I can stop watching this time after Wrestle Kingdom. I really haven't watched since the summer and it's like, hey, that's a quick $120 a year.
The apartment has been in various states of duress this past month, but all is well that ends well.
Noticed our hot water tank was leaking so that had a nice Friday night repair. It caused some damp carpet, but after many days of a small industrial fan blowing over the spot, it was dried and after another few days, they replaced the carpet.
Work and my skin issues were driving me crazy so after a lot of cleaning, I was pretty confident that my apartment didn't have bed bugs from work. But, I had to know for certain. I cleaned up the apartment and had a local, certified bed bug dog team come in and after a harrowing hour, my apartment was considered clear.
There were discussions at work and it became obvious my most infuriating, neckbeard co-worker is to blame. The bad news is that he's handling it in a haphazard manner, so until further notice, I have to spot check myself, which really inconveniences me, but is worth it for my peace of mind. -screams-
Other lameness at work is that my classroom was taken away so now I have to beg and borrow for teaching space. It makes things less convenient to schedule, but it gives me the whole afternoon out of the office and I can't complain about that too much. The countdown to get out of there is now at 2 years and I'm a little nervous that I won't be find something before then.
I have a lot of avenues that pique my interest, but I'm not firmly committed to any of them. Working in an escape room seems very interesting, but I'm worried about the longevity of the industry and real profitability outside of being an owner/chief staff of a room. Being a yoga instructor seems closer when I'm actually doing the work since I'm a lot stronger and in better shape than last year, but I'm still far from the 4 (?) hours a week I need to be doing. Game design is the newest, biggest question mark. There's a lot of free tools and I know a lot of good folks...but telling a good story, having a good experience, and making money seems like a lot of balls to keep in the air.
I need to work on my IT certification just to keep a back up plan, but I also need to start committing time to moving forward.
A piece of moving forward was buying a gaming worthy PC. It's an Alienware Alpha on the low end of the spectrum, but it's still competent. Hoping I'll be able to dip my toe into game development this way and who knows, maybe I'll be able to take Competitive Overwatch seriously.
Overwatch has continued to be the number one game that I play. I've played with a number of friends that I haven't played games with ever or in years, so I'm very happy about that. (Including Brodsky, Bonnie, Kriz and the Dallas fam [biiiiig rooster~] and Abby) On PC, in just messing around quick play, now that I've set my buttons closer to what works for me (I hate WASD), I'm putting up pretty good medal numbers. Once I complete my season 3 placement on PS4 in (I'm doing -so- much better in placement and the games are feeling a lot better), I think I'll try to really get my PC game in line and see how we do. The Christmas event was awesome, but it feels like the actual holiday passed too quick. At least I got Zenyatta on PS4 and I got the other ones that I wanted on PC.
I've definitely been playing other games too and I didn't really recognize it until I looked at my list. Played around a bit more in KOF XIV and Disney Infinity and I have really been feeling the Star Wars itch. Was really digging Talos Principle to play puzzles, but the holidays stopped me playing pretty quick. Some of those puzzles are NASTY without the proper mindset into them. Other games I dabbled into include Hitman (easily the best Hitman game that I've played, but my attention is too scattered for it right now) and Let It Die which is fun Souls-esque game, but I'm behind on all my From games anyway. Been playing Super Mario Run at work too and it's very good and addicting, but I'm hoping not too much of a data hog. It's definitely a battery hog, but low graphic settings are stupid when you can see how pretty it really is. Also played the demo for the new Nier and it's fun, even if not perfect. Games I need to catch up on: Shadow of the Colossus, Bayonetta 2, Nier
In an attempt to figure out if I wanted a physical copy, I bought Firewatch. I love the possibilities and the feel of the game (80's throwback, dialogue choices) but where it goes with it feels lacking. I wished for a more orthodox grounded story to reflect the medium and maybe that's something that I want to make. All the tie in merchandise from PAX and everything is amazing, though. I don't think I need the physical copy (although the map would be cool), but I'm glad I experienced it and want to do the audio tour, I think.
In other game news, Death Stranding looks fantastic. Grace has done a good job of keeping me up to date on the latest news and the Game Awards business has sealed my feelings on Konami's Metal Gear Solid. It isn't the same with Kojima and I should stand by the creator of what has given me so much happiness and introspection over the years. I want to support Kojima Productions but I kinda missed the boat on the shirt kit and I'm kicking myself over that one a lot. I hope that I get another chance. So I didn't hesitate on buying the Low Roar vinyl, even though I'm not crazy about vinyl. ...I kind of want to cosplay as Death Stranding Mads, but I don't know if I can get everything in time for PAX. Something else to look at.
I guess that I have been gradually catching up on my media stuff. I ended up making a lot of progress into Jessica Jones which gets really hard hitting and suspenseful and definitely dark. My delay in watching it is nothing against the story; I definitely enjoy it whenever I watch; the slow burn in the beginning helps set up some later pieces, but maybe a bit of concise editing could have been done.
Setting up for a great pay off is one of the many reasons that I am still completely and totally in love with Agents of SHIELD. Season 4 is paying off so many of the the arcs from the first 3 seasons and Bus Family will be forever in their own way. Ghost Rider/Robbie Reyes is such an interesting, layered character, and I hope that we will not have seen the last of him. I'm glad that FitzSimmons gets to enjoy their happiness, too. <3
The only really notable WWE thing to report is the continuing superiority of Smackdown and GOOOOOOLDBERG. OMG, marked out so hard over his victory. Like, I'm still salty about the streak being broken and I know how WCW guys usually get destroyed in WWE, so I'm very happy about this turn of events. It would be amazing to see him in the Rumble, but I really can't spend that much money and I'll be extra heartbroken if it doesn't go right. ;; I'm starting to catch up on NJPW before the Dome Show and because it's Omega/Okada, I can't not watch. Let's see if I can stop watching this time after Wrestle Kingdom. I really haven't watched since the summer and it's like, hey, that's a quick $120 a year.